


Dr Dr Simmons and One-PhD Fitz

by inevitablyinquisitive



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, We met on a train AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-16 11:11:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7265785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inevitablyinquisitive/pseuds/inevitablyinquisitive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jemma boards an early-morning train to Bucharest, intending on preparing for her last-minute conference only to be disturbed not once, not twice, but three times by her pretzel-munching travel companion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dr Dr Simmons and One-PhD Fitz

Jemma groaned as her alarm sounded, its perky ringtone reminding her that “ _there is no way she should be looking for a boyfriend_ ”. Having been up for most of the night preparing for the last-minute conference she was being forced to attend on Professor Vaughn’s behalf (curse those kidney stones), her usually cheery morning attitude was lost beneath the stacks of papers currently smothering almost every surface of her bedroom. She smacked the offending alarm clock with a little excess force and trudged into the shower.

 

She tried not to think about the clothes stuffed haphazardly into her small red suitcase or the fact that her travel mug of coffee was burning her fingers, instead focusing on the train at the end of the platform that was due to leave in two minutes. Hastily picking up the ticket she had dropped and quietly thanking all the gods that there were no witnesses to see her clumsy and embarrassing attempt at running with luggage, she scrambled through the barrier towards the nearest door. The heels of her boots caught on the last step and sent her stumbling head-first into the nearest carriage. A sprained ankle was the last thing she needed when she was facing a weekend walking around Bucharest. _To hell with this damn day_ , she thought.

 

 “Uh, ‘scuse me?” She felt a tap on her shoulder. “Uh miss, hey, sorry, I - I think you might be in my er, seat? 11C?”

Jemma didn't bother concealing her irritation, glancing up at the boyish face and otherwise empty carriage while she gathered her belongings and stood up sharply. “Sorry.” She replied harshly, then felt a twinge of guilt. “Sorry, again, didn't mean to snap - bad morning - not your fault.”

 “S’okay,” the boy mumbled, bewildered.

 

Thirty minutes later, a loud crunching and rustling began to emanate from the seat three rows down - its owner, of course, blissfully unaware as he enjoyed the film blaring through his headphones. The more-than disgruntled occupant of 14A sipped her cold coffee and sighed audibly, attempting to refocus her attention on Vaughn’s disorganised notes. Synthetic biology, of all topics - didn't he know she was biochem? There was nothing Jemma Simmons hated more than last-minute cramming - after all, she _excels_ at preparation - nonetheless she pulled out her laptop and notepad and turned to _Google._

 

Two monkeys danced around their sleeping mother, flinging twigs and dirt at one another across a 12-inch iPad screen. The owner (of the iPad, not the monkeys - though it wasn't for lack of trying) chuckled as the mother stirred, sending the youngsters scampering away so quickly that they collided and collapsed in a heap of nervous chatter. Leo Fitz reached his hand into the empty packet of crisps sitting on the table while keeping his eyes glued to the screen and fumbled about in search for another. No luck. He sighed, a trip to the snack car it was, then. He briefly wondered whether his travelling companion might appreciate some pretzels too and resolved to bring some back for her, she seemed nice.

 

“Hey, um, pretzels?” The interruption startled Jemma out of her study-induced haze.

“Excuse me?” She replied hastily.

“I bought pretzels. Want some?” He waved the packet at her.

 “Oh, no. No er - thank you though, that's kind of you…” She brushed away a crumb that had landed on her notes, neatly dotting the _i_ in the word _bacteria._

“You sure?” He asked, inadvertently spraying her with more chunks of pretzel as she shook her head furiously. “Okay then, m’sorry ‘bout that…”

 

She sighed and returned to her work. _Ion implantation… Ion implantation…_  

“The process by which ions are accelerated in an electrical field and impacted into a solid.” He was still standing beside her, reading over her shoulder - a habit she found unbearably annoying. “I'm an engineer!” He replied by way of explanation.

“ _Great._ ”

“What? I went to MIT!”

 “ _Well done,_ ” she murmured back sarcastically, her eyebrow rising further as her annoyance grew.  

“Oh hey, I know this stuff - I can help you if you like? Ion implantation is used in semiconductor device fabrication…” Fitz continued.

 

_My god, is this boy completely oblivious to any social cues?!_ She cleared her throat icily. “I have two doctorates from Cambridge and Harvard, I think I’ll be fine. What do _you_ know about this stuff, anyway?”

 

_Somebody’s a little egotistical,_ Fitz thought, but continued regardless. “More than you think, probably. I specialised in materials engineering and -”

 

“It was a rhetorical question,” she snapped back.

“Oh come on - Jemma, right?” He squinted at the name badge pinned neatly on her shirt.

“Dr _Dr_ Simmons, actually. And you are?” _Damn, he looks like a confused puppy when he squints like that._

“Dr Leo Fitz. Call me Fitz though, please.”

“Only one doctorate? I'm disappointed in you Fitz!” She teased, unable to hide the grin forming on her lips.

“Well I'm assuming neither of _yours_ are in materials engineering, so if we were children I'd stick my tongue out at you and say ‘so there.’”

“Ooh, ouch,” she mocked. “And I'm biochem. Nice to meet you, one-PhD Fitz.”

“Likewise, Dr _Dr_ Simmons. Now, back to ion implantation…”

**Author's Note:**

> massive thanks and kudos to Raquel ([ughfitz](http://archiveofourown.org/users/wokemeup/pseuds/ughfitz)) for working her beta magic! you can also find me on the tumblrs ([inevitably-inquisitive](http://inevitably-inquisitive.tumblr.com))  
> have a happy hiatus! :D


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